Last week we welcomed our newest signee, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, to the Jagjaguwar family. With a brand new album in the works, SPIN stepped into the studio with the UMO’s main man for a look at what’s to come. It’s the follow-up to UMO’s self-titled, debut release. Ruban gives insight to the new record’s origin: the road.

“There are a lot of weird shit that starts going through your head when you don’t get enough sleep, when you start indulging in stuff. There are a lot of weird ideas in there that, when I actually got my head together afterward, I was shocked: I didn’t realize how dark some of the lyrics had become.”

After writing the album, Ruban returned to his new home of Portland to begin recording before heading back out on the road with Grizzly Bear. “It was just me, locked up, sleeping during the day and making the record at night,” he shares.